Paving project progressing on pace

Officials said the roadwork being completed in downtown Russellville should be finished by no later than Tuesday night of this week.
Mark Butcher, a construction inspector with Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, said road crews got started with the actual paving process on Monday after letting the road sit for a week following the milling work on June 24-28.
“After the utility department checked for any leaks or problems with the water and sewer lines, the first thing we started back with was patching work on any areas where the utility department had to dig into the road,” Butcher said.
“We then started putting down a layer of leveling on all the traffic lanes because the subgrade level that was uncovered during the milling process was in pretty bad shape.
“That layer will just provide a smoother ride once the road is completed.”
Butcher said crews moved on to adding a wearing layer on the north and south bound lanes Thursday night and would finish the wearing layer on the center turn lane on Friday night.
“We’ll also be working on the side parking areas before we stop for the weekend,” he said.
“We’ve had a few delays because of the weather, but the contractors have done a great job staying close to schedule.”
Butcher said crews would start back Monday evening and should have the paving process completed by no later than Tuesday night.
“Once the paving process is done, all that will be left is the striping process,” he said. “Motorists will see striping on the road, but that will only be temporary paint.
“There is a state-mandated 14-day curing period for the road before we can come back in and put down the permanent thermoplastic striping, which won’t take long to complete.”
Russellville Mayor David Grissom said he was pleased with the hard work the crews have put in to stay close to schedule, even with the weather delays.
“I know there have been several nights where crews have had to stop early or start late because of rain and storms, so we appreciate them working to get this job completed as quickly as possible,” Grissom said.
“I know this has been an inconvenience for our residents, but we will soon have a nice, new road in our downtown area that everyone will be proud of.”
City officials reminded residents to continue avoiding the downtown area between the hours of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. until all repaving work is complete.